The Volkswagen factory in Puebla, Mexico
is the sole world producer of the New Beetle.

Until July 2003, the plant was also the last world producer of
the Original Beetle, known in Mexico
as the Sedan (or, more affectionately, the Vochito), which was for many years the
country’s modal car. I took this picture walking around in downtown Mexico City in May
2003.

The New Beetle and the Jetta are produced in the Puebla plant using
state-of-the-art technology. The picture is of Kuka robots on the Jetta
welding line, behind glass. Humans (skilled maintenance workers or engineers)
enter the area only to install, program or repair the robots.

The Original Beetle was produced in Puebla
using the same technology that had been in use in the plant since the
mid-1960s, which was used in Germany
in the 1950s. Much of the work was done by hand.

Figure IV from paper. The peso devaluation of late 1994 led to
a sharp increase in the export share of the Puebla plant, as well as the
share of the high quality varieties (Jetta, Golf, New Beetle) in total
production, generating an upgrading of the average quality of car produced in
the plant, the average level of technological sophistication, and the average
skill of workers engaged in production.